US2904216A - Newspaper vending machine - Google Patents

Description

Se t. 15, 1959 D. R. POLAND NEWSPAPER VENDING MACHINE Filed May 27', 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 a IT-717517.722? flaw/11.0 Z IDOL/4MB Sept. 15, 1959 D. R. POLAND 2,904,216

NEWSPAPER VENDING MACHINE Filed May 27, 195? 4 s Sheets-Sheet 2 Sept. 15, 1959 D. R. POLAND NEWSPAPER VENDING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed May 27, 1957 571 5177271" flan/Aw F POLAND 2,904,216 NEWSPAPER VENDING MACHINE Donald R. Poland, St. Petersburg, Fla. Application May 27, 1957, Serial No. 661,701 '4 Claims. '(Cl. 221-90) This invention relates to vending machines and is particularly adapted for vending of newspapers, and the like. While the need of machines of this type is obvious, the mechanisms so far devised have failed to furnish such standards in reliability of operation and simplicity of manipulation as will assure popular acceptance thereof, and particularly newspaper vending machines have, therefore, not found the widespread use of which they are potentially capable.

The object of the invention is to provide a coin operated machine of the type in which the newspapers to be vended are arranged in a column consisting of supports arranged one above the other and properly spaced to receive newspapers therebetween, each of the supports holding its respective newspaper, each of the sup ports pivotally supported at the rear end thereof, the forward end of the supports releasably :held in openings formed in posts arranged at the front of the machine, and releasing means which may be actuated to successively release the supports from the posts to allow them to tilt to discharge or deliver therefrom the newspaper held thereby.

It. is another object of the present invention to furnish a dependable operating newspaper vending machine which a purchaser may conveniently operate with only one hand.

Another object of the invention is to provide a sturdy, stormproof and theftproof machine housing for the protection: of. simple, easily operated and non-jamming mechanisms capable of delivering a paper whenever a proper coin is deposited in the" machine and a lever manually operated, and upon delivery of the last copy of the newspapers it will automatically warn prospective purchasers of its inability to deliver any more papers.

A further object of the invention is to provide a vending machine for newspapers and the like, which is simple in construction, reliable in operation and convenient to manipulate.

A still further object 'of the invention is to furnish a machine of the type referred to which may be manufactured at such low cost as to lend itself to profitable use in places of small, as well as large turnovers.

Another object of the invention is to provide a machine of this character having coin'controlled mechanism for a release of a control means'eifectedby the actuation of the manually operable lever for dispensing a newspaper.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a machine, of the type described, with exteriorly visual means adapted to permit exposure of the main headlines of the news to be found in the newspapers placed for sale in the device, the headlines being found upon a single copy of a newspaper which is arranged vertically in the front door of the machine andthis copy allowed to drop downwardly out of sight after all newspapers in the machine assembled for sale have been dispensed.

Broadly, it is an object of the present invention to provide-a vending machine for newspapers and the like, which is simple in construction, reliable in operation and convenient to manipulate.

To the attaiment of these objects and the accomplish- United States Patent .0 M

2,904,216 Patented Sept. 15, 1959 ment of other new and useful objects as will appear, the invention consists in the features of novelty in substantially the construction, combination and arrangement of the several parts hereinafter more fully described and claimed and shown in the accompanying drawing illustrating this invention and in which:

Figure l is a perspective view of a newspaper vending machine embodying the invention, the discharge shelf shown in its lowered position, and the machine mounted on a post for support;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the machine shown in Figure 1 with the door open showing the novel features therein for dispensing newspapers;

Figure 3 is a sectional plan view of the machine shown in Figures 1 and 2 taken substantially along the line 3--'3 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional side'elevation of a portion of the machine embodying the invention, one shelf lowered to a vertical position and a second shelf thereabove in a horizontal position and supporting a newspaper;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary detail sectional view of the machine embodying the invention, showing the operating shaft mounted at the rear of the housing with the rope winding drums and associated parts thereon;

Figure 6 is an enlarged fragmentary detail view of the rope drums and cooperating ratchets on opposite ends of. the operating shaft shown in Figure 5;

Figure 7 is a fragmentary detail sectional view taken substantially along the line 77 of Figure 5; and

Figure 8 is a fragmentary detail sectional view adjacent the bottom of the display paper container.

Referring more specifically to the drawings:

The new and improved newspaper vending machine consists of a housing 15. The housing is composed of two sheet metal side walls 16 and 17 respectively, a sheet metal rear wall 18, a base 19, a top portion 20, apartition .21 parallel with the side walls 16 and 17, and aimetalli'c front door 22 hinged to said side wall 17; said walls and partition welded to the base and top at the adjacent edge portions thereof. The machine may be mounted upon a post 39 or any suitable means. The upper interior portion of the housing 15 between the side wall 17 and the partition 21 provides a magazine 24 to house the newspapers to be disposed, said magazine being. large enough to house shelves with a complete newspaper folded once upon itself and supported on each shelf in a horizontal plane.

Suitable means are provided for supporting the shelves and allowing the same to be lowered in order to dispense papers deposited thereon. Adjacent the side wall 17 and adjacent the portion 21 are secured metal plates 25 and 26 respectively. The plates 25 and 26 extend from the base 19 to the top 20 with the free front edge portions 27 and 28 formed inwardly towards each other for a front and rear formed portions of said plate 25 actually form channel-shaped posts for supporting the shelves, said posts will be referred to by numerals 35, 36,. 37 and 38, respectively. The front posts 35 and 37 as shown for example provide a hollow channel post substantially 1 /2 inches deep with its side walls spaced approximately A inch apart. The rear'posts 36 and 38 as shown pro- .vide a hollow channel post substantially 3% inches deep with its side walls spaced approximately -7i inch apart.

The rear posts 36 and 38 are provided adjacent the free edges thereof with slots 40 and 41 vertically spaced one inch apart, the forward end portion of each slot providing a horizontal portion 42 and the rear portion of each slot providing an upwardly inclined runway 44, clearly shown by Figure 4. The forward posts 35 and 37 are provided with substantially circular openings 46 and 47 vertically spaced one inch apart and adjacent the free edges 31 and 33 thereof. The horizontal width of each opening 46 and 47 is preferably two-thirds of the actual vertical diameter thereof, providing an open slot with the vertical free edges 31 and 33. The forward posts 35 and 37 are also provided with a vertical slot 48, approximately /2 inch wide, between the forward edge and said openings 46 and 47, and extending within a short distance above the base 19 and below the ceiling of the magazine, or top 20, clearly shown by Figures 2 and 4. The openings and slots 40, 41, 46 and 47 in the four posts 35, 36, 37 and 38 are arranged at corresponding levels for supporting newspaper supporting shelves later to be described.

In the magazine 24, within said housing 15, are a plurality of shelves 50, preferably made of flat, smooth, lightweight metal, horizontally supported in the openings and slots 40, 41, 46 and 47, for supporting newspapers 55 between each two adjacent shelves. Each corner of the shelf 50 is provided with a pivot pin, the pivot pins at the rear of the shelf referred to by numerals 57 and 58 respectively, the pins at the front of the shelves referred to by numerals 59 and 60. If desired, said pins could be replaced by two cylindrical rods assembled with the front and rear edges of the shelves with the free ends extending a short distance out from each side thereof. The pins are of smaller diameter than the vertical width of the slots and openings 40, 41, 46 and 47 in the supporting posts 35, 36, 37 and 38 and when assembled therewith provide support for the newspapers. The shelves are removable but it is to be noted that it is not necessary to remove them to load or reload the machine.

An inclined chute 60 is suitably supported in the lower section of the housing 15 and descends obliquely from the rear wall 18 to the upper front edge of the base 19 extending across between walls 17 and 21. Adjacent the lower edge of chute 60 is pivotally secured a small, upwardly curved shelf 61, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, and is provided with an upwardly directed stop edge 62 to form a delivery trough. Said shelf 61 has a spring attached to its forward edge portion and at each end thereof to keep it raised to a vertically normal position. When the chute 60 delivers a paper to said shelf 61, the weight of the sliding newspaper will depress the shelf 61 to form a continuation of the chute 60 and allow the newspaper to pass and stop at the outer edge 62 of the shelf 61 to form a delivery trough. After the paper is removed, the shelf will return to its normal vertical position, the shape of the shelf 61 will prevent the entry of human fingers or mechanical devices to be inserted within the housing to effect theft. The front door 22 is hinged to said side wall 17 and has its lower ledge portion recessed to form a discharge opening 63. The opening 63 is sufliciently large enough to allow the shelf 61 with stop edge 62 to protrude outwardly from the housing when contacted by a newspaper for dispensing, as indicated by Figures 1 and 2.

The chute 60 forms a false bottom to the magazine section within the housing lying below the bottom shelf and inclined toward the newspaper delivery slot. A chamber 65 is formed between the delivery chute 60, the rear wall 18 and the base 19. An operating shaft 66 is suitably mounted transversely within the chamber by a plurality of bearings 67 and 68 secured upon the base 19, said shaft and associated shaft 80, forming a continuation thereof, extending through partition 21 and the outer side wall 16 to support outside the housing an operating lever 70 rigidly secured thereto, as shown by Figure 5. Between the bearing 68 and partition 21 is mounted a rope winding drum 71 of duplex type having two sections 72 and 73 of different diameters. The drums are provided for winding the rope for connection with a shelf release mechanism later to be described. When it is desired to handle daily papers which will fit between shelves spaced one inch apart, the smaller drum 72 is used. When a large, or thick, newspaper is to be vended, the shelves must be spaced two inches apart and then the larger drum 73 is used in conjunction with the release mechanism. A ratchet drive 75 is positioned between the drum 73 and partition 21. One-half of the ratchet 81 is secured to said drum and the other half 82 to a drive shaft which extends through the partition 21, a coin box 115, and side wall 16. When the operating lever 70 is actuated, shaft 80 will rotate ratchet 82 in a counterclockwise direction, turning ratchet section 81 and the drums 71 and 73 in a counterclockwise direction. A spring 83 placed between the ratchet section 82 and the locking collar 84 mounted upon said shaft 80 and adjacent partition 21 within the chamber 65, holds the ratchet sections 81 and 82 in engagement. A second ratchet assembly 84 is mounted upon said shaft 66, said assembly 84 is composed of a ratchet section 85 keyed to said shaft and a second section 86 mounted upon a support 87 secured to the base 19. Ratchet 84 is provided to keep the shaft 66 from rotating in a clockwise direction when the operating lever 70 is raised or released and shaft 80 turned clockwise, and for that reason the teeth on ratchet 84 are formed in reverse from those on ratchet 75. Each ratchet is provided with an annular groove; ratchet 75 with a groove 87 and ratchet 85 with a groove 88. A horizontal rod 89 is arranged in the lower portion of the chamber 65. Said rod 89 is provided with a pair of arms 90 and 91 for operating within the annular grooves 87 and 88. Arm 91 is formed at the far end of said rod 89 for engagement with said groove 88. Arm 90 is formed between the ends of the rod 89 and extended for engagement with said groove 87. The free end of the rod 89 which extends through the partition 21 and into the space between the wall 16 and partition 21 has a hand knob 93 secured thereto. Therefore, whenever the knob 93 is moved to the right, both ratchets 75 and 85 have their operating sections separated because the arms 90 and 91 moving the sections 32 and 85 to the right, allowing any rope wound upon the drum 72 or 73 to be released. A drum 101 with sections 102 and 103 of different diameter, but corresponding to drums 72 and 73 in size, is mounted adjacent ratchet sec-tion 85 for winding a rope thereon connected with the shelf release mechanism. The two sections of ratchet 84 are resiliently held together by spring 105 positioned between drum 101 and locking ring 106 on shaft 66' adjacent bearing 67. Whenever a rope is wound upon either of drums 72 or 73, a corresponding rope is wound upon one of the drums 102 or 103 of corresponding size. The drums are moved and released in unison.

The ropes wound upon the drums have free ends attached to the shelf releasing means, composed of two releasing blocks 90 and 91 slidable in vertical slots provided in the front posts. The rope leaving either drum travels rearwardly and under a pulley 92 vertically mounted upon supports 93, as shown by Figure 7. Each rope is trained upwardly and through an eyelet 94 in the front post, and downwardly Where it is attached to a releasing block, such as 90 and 91. Each releasing block is provided with a guide pin 94 embodying a retaining head portion which will slide within the front posts 35 and 37. Each releasing block is also provided with .a shelf releasing pin 96 which extends rearwardly toward the shelves. The free end portions 97 of said pins 96 are formed to extend downwardly and beneath the front shelf pins and 60. When theblocks 90 and 91 are raised by upward travel of the ropes wound upon the drums, said end portions 97 will effect a camming action, lifting the pins 59 and 60 upwardly and forcing same rearwardly out of the slots 46. Thus, the shelf and shelf pins have lost their forward support and the forward portion of the shelf will fall when released until its front portion rests against the inclined chute 60, or whatever shelf may previously have been released, as shown by Figure 2.

As the release shelf drops onto the chute 60 in the manner described, it causes the paper 111 placed thereon to slide off in forward direction and drop onto chute 60 which will conduct it to the delivery shelf or trough 61, at the end thereof.

Not all the papers dispensed by the machine of this invention are stored in a horizontal position interiorly of the magazine 24. One copy is placed in a vertical position in a chamber 100 formed between the rear auxi-liary wall 102 of the door, forming the front wall of the magazine 24, and a glass window 103 disposed in an opening in wall 22 to reveal the name, date and headlines of the paper to prospective buyers. The chamber 100 is open at the top to permit insertion of the paper. The bottom of the chamber 100 is also open to communicate with the magazine except for the trap door 104 hinged thereto by hinge pin 135 secured to said rear wall 102, said door 104 supporting the exhibited paper in contact therewith, shown by Figure 8. Means are pro- ,vided in accordance 'with this invention to drop the exhibited paper within chamber 100 whenever the supply of papers within the magazine 24 has been exhausted. For this purpose, said trap door 104 is held in a horizontal position by a latch 106 secured thereto and having a tail end portion 107 bent upwardly at right angles thereto. A rod 108 is movably assembled upon the end portion of chamber 100 adjacent the free edge portion of the door 22. The upper end portion 109 of said rod 108 projects rearwardly at a short distance above the uppermost shelf in the magazine when the door is closed. As the end portion 97 of the releasing pin passes upward- 1y, after it has released all the shelves from the front supports, the release block 90 supporting said pin will come in contact 'with the upper end portion 109 of said rod 108 which will cause the rod 108 to be raised up- W wardly, the lower end 1'10 of the rod 108 will be raised thereby releasing the latch 106 from its horizontal position, allowing the trap door 104 to drop downwardly due to the weight of the newspaper disposed thereabove.

Below the chamber 100 is assembled a safety shelf 1'12.

As the trap door opens the exhibited paper will drop downwardly until it rests upon the safety shelf 112 preventing it from dropping onto the chute and into contact with the delivery shelf 61 from which it could be removed by any party without payment of fee. In consequence thereof, the exhibited paper 'will drop out of tition 21 and about the shaft 80 extending through said 7 Walls. A coin tube 116 is mounted upon the upper Wall of said coin box, the upper end 117 thereof extending outwardly and substantially in contact with the rear side of the door wall 22:. A coin deposit slot 118 is formed in the door wall and in direct alignment with the open end 117 of said'jtube'l'ltfi. A coin return shelf 119 is assembljed on the inside ofthe'd'oor' 22 and in alignment with the coin'return slot 120*. Suitable mechanism is projvidedflwithinithe coin box whereby the shaft 80 may be 'rotated'b'y the actuation of lever '70 if and only when a coin is deposited therein. As an added safeguard, once the release block 90 has contacted the rod 108 and the exhibit paper has dropped to its lowermost position, all the rope is wound upon the drum that can be wound thereon and will prevent the rod from further rotation, this prevents any coin from entering the coinbox and whenever a coin is inserted in the coin deposit slot it will be returned to the coin return shelf 119'.

Directly above the coin box and coin tube and within the chamber formed by the walls 16, 18 and partitionZl, is mounted a sound device 125. A disc record which will revolve for approximately sixty seconds is assembled with the sound device V125 and operated by the usual assembly of parts as required by a talking machine of this type. Whenever a coin is deposited within the coin slot 118 and the rod 80 is rotated by lever 70' to dispense a newspaper, a wire cord 126 connected between a lever within the sound device and a lever connected with said rod 80, is caused to be actuated and the sound device will function for sixty seconds, the sound escapes through the speaker 127 disposed in the end wall' 16 of themachine, shown by Figures 1 and 2. The disc record which plays each time a paper is dispensed may be usedfor advertising purposes, whereby a voice recorded may state Thank you,.we hope you enjoy your paper, or Dine tonight at the Waldorf.

To replenish the machine of this invention, the door 22 is unlocked by a suitable key inserted in door lock 130', the door opened, knob 93 grasped and-move to the right. Movement of knob 93 actuates rod 89 which in turn separates the ratchets 75 and allowing the shaft 66 to be free to rotate in a clockwise direction which allows the rope wound upon the drums to be dispensed and the releasing of the blocks and 91 which drop immediately to the lowermost section of the magazine. The shelves may then be raised to a horizontal position, the shelf pin reinserted in slots 46, whereby the shelves are in position to be controlled by therelease blocks 90 and 91. Then, newspapers are inserted between each two adjacent shelves. Finally a last copy of the latest edition thereof is inserted into chamber .100 through the top thereof, the trap door 104 is clo'sed,jand rod positioned to lock the latch 106 in a horizontal position. The newspaper in its proper upright position in the chamber will be displayed through the glass window. The machine is now ready to serve the public.

The described machine may be used for dispensing newspapers of varying thickness. When a thick Sunday paper is to be dispensed only one-half the regular number of shelves is reassembled in the magazine with twice the usual distance between each shelf. This isall accomplished without any adjustment whatsoever of the working parts. The ropes attached to the shelf release blocks are arranged to travel over the large drums when greater space is required between the shelves, as it requires a greater travel of the blocks for each actuation of the lever 70. The machine is of simple construction, giving satisfactory operation and greatest durability. The machine may, therefore, be easily manufactured in large quantities at a low cost.

The manipulation of the machine is of the simplest nature-and only requires the actuation of a lever after the insertion of a coin, whereupon a newspaper will be dis- .pensed, one at a time, with no possibility for the operator to improperly operate the machine, or steal a paper. The dispensing operations are repeated until the last newspaper has been vended, whereupon further insertion of coins through the coin slot will be returned at the coin shelf below the coin box.

From the foregoing description it will be readily understood that I have produced an efficient machine whereby newspapers may be vended, and I have, in the drawings and specification, presented a detailed disclosure of the preferred embodiments of my invention, but it is to be understood that -I do not intend to limit the invention of the specific for disclosed but intend to cover all modifica- 7 tions, changes and alternative constructions and methods falling within the scope of the principles taught by my invention.

I claim as my invention:

'1. In a vending machine for newspapers having a magazine, a discharge outlet below said magazine, said magazine including a plurality of superimposed shelves mounted for swinging movement about fixed pivots in elongated bearing and arranged so that the forward edge portion will drop individually in said magazine from its horizontal position when released, retaining means for maintaining said shelves against said swinging movement, a traveling member for successively and bodily shifting said shelves and pivots rearwardly in said bearings with respect to said discharge outlet to render said retaining means inactive to permit the shelves to swing about their pivots, said magazine including a vertical wall and window disposed to form a chamber in the front portion thereof and adapted to accommodate a paper in vertical position, said chamber having an open bottom disposed about said discharge outlet, a trap-door hinged to the lower edge portion of said chamber to open and close said chamber, a movable rod mounted and arranged vertically to keep said door in its upper position closing said chamber, the upper end portion of said rod having a rearwardly extending portion, said traveling member striking said rod extension and raising said rod and releasing said trap-door after it has passed the uppermost of said shelves and all of said shelves have dropped downwardly, whereby said paper in the vertical position in said chamber will drop downwardly below said window indicating that the magazine is empty and there are no newspapers to be vended.

2. In a vending machine for newspapers having a magazine, a discharge outlet below said magazine, said magazine including a plurality of superimposed shelves mounted for swinging movement about fixed pivots in elongated bearing and arranged so that the forward edge portion will drop individually in said magazine from its horizontal position when released, retaining means for maintaining said shelves against said swinging movement, a traveling member for successively and bodily shifting said shelves and pivots rearwardly in said bearings with respect to said discharge outlet to render said retaining means inactive to permit the shelves to swing about their pivots, the traveling member to be intermittently advanced, flexible means secured to said member and to a revolving drum mounted upon a shaft operated by a lever mounted outside said magazine and coacting with ratchet mechanisms for advancing the member, said magazine including a vertical wall andwindow disposed to form a chamber in the front portion thereof and adapted to accommodate a paper in vertical position, said chamber having an open bottom disposed about said discharge outlet, a trap-door hinged to the lower edge portion of said chamber to open and close said chamber, latch means attached to said door to keep said trap-door closed, a movable rod mounted and arranged vertically to keep said latch means and said trap-door in its upper position closing said chamber, the upper end of said rod curved rearwardly, said traveling member striking said curved upper end and raising said rod and releasing said door latch and trap-door after it has passed the uppermost of said shelves and all of said shelves have dropped downwardly, whereby said paper in the vertical position in said chamber will drop downwardly below said window indicating that the magazine is empty and there are no newspapers to be vended.

3. A vending machine having a chamber for the reception of the articles to be delivered, an opening for the discharge of the articles from said chamber, a plurality of shelves within said chamber on which the articles are placed, said chamber embodying front and rear shelf supporting members provided with a plurality of journal slots in the rear supports and a plurality of restraining sockets in the forward supports, each of said shelves embodying hinge pins in the rear edge portion thereof and extending beyond the lateral edges thereof, and supporting pins in the front edge portion thereof and extending beyond the lateral edges thereof, said hinge pins receivable in said journal slots, said supporting pins receivable in said restraining sockets, a plurality of releasing members traveling adjacent the forward edges of said shelves for successively elevating the forward edge of said shelves and shifting said shelves rearwardly, whereby the supporting pins of each shelf are removed from said sockets thereby allowing each shelf to tilt downwardly, said magazine including a vertical wall and window disposed to form a chamber in the front portion thereof and adapted to accommodate a paper in vertical position, said chamber having an open bottom disposed about said discharge outlet, a trap-door hinged to the lower edge portion of said chamber to open and close said chamber, a safety shelf attached to said door below said trap-door, a latch attached to said trap-door, a movable rod mounted and arranged vertically to keep said door latch and trap-door in their upper position closing said chamber, the upper end of said rod curved rearwardly, said traveling member striking said upper portion of said rod raising said rod and releasing said door latch and trap-door after it has passed the uppermost of said shelves and all of said shelves have dropped downwardly, whereby said paper in the vertical position in said chamber will drop downwardly below said window indicating that the magazine is empty and there are no newspapers to be vended.

4. In a vending machine for newspapers having a magazine, a discharge outlet below said magazine, said magazine including a plurality of superimposed shelves mounted for swinging movement about fixed pivots in elongated bearing and arranged so that the forward edge portion will drop individually in said magazine from its horizontal position when released, retaining means for maintaining said shelves against said swinging movement,

a traveling member for s uccessively and bodily shifting said shelves and pivots rearwardly in said bearings with respect to said discharge outlet to render said retaining means inactive to permit the shelves to swing about their pivots, said magazine including a vertical wall and window disposed to form a chamber in the front portion thereof and adapted to accommodate a paper in vertical position, said chamber having an open bottom disposed about said discharge outlet, a trap-door hinged to the lower edge portion of said chamber to open and close said chamber, a latching means attached to said trap-door, and a movable rod mounted and arranged vertically to keep said latching means and trap-door in the upper position closing said chamber, the upper end of said rod projecting rearwardly, said traveling member striking the upper end portion of said rod raising said rod and releasing said trap-door after it has passed the uppermost of said shelves and all of said shelves have dropped downwardly, whereby said paper in the vertical position in said chamber will drop downwardly below said window indicating that the magazine is empty and there are no newspapers to be vended.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 532,526 Bryce Ian. 15, 1895 1,240,526 Ziebarth Sept. 18, 1917 1,240,595 Perfect Sept. 18, 1917 1,787,644 Schermack Jan. 6, 1931 1,876,424 Kenyon Sept. 6, 1932 1,916,530 Richardson July 4, 1933 2,500,437 Tandler Mar. 19, 1950 2,546,352 Weaver Mar. 27, 1951 2,621,994 Sadler Dec. 16, 1952 2,816,688 Wolf Dec. 17, 1957

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